Page:Gesta Romanorum - Swan - Wright - 2.djvu/231

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(42) relates, that in the time of Philip there was a pathway leading to two mountains of Armenia, which had long been uninhabited. For the air of that country was so pestilential, that whosoever breathed it, died. The king, therefore, was desirous of ascertaining the cause of the evil, but no one could discover it. At length Socrates was sent for, who requested him to build a mansion equal in loftiness with the mountains. This was done; and the philosopher then constructed a mirror, with a perfectly pure and polished surface, so that from every part the appearance of the mountains was reflected in the glass. Entering the edifice, Socrates beheld two dragons, one upon the mountain, and the